John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.

After getting some well-deserved rest and relaxation during their bye week, the Texans have returned to NRG Stadium to prepare for their most treacherous stretch of the season – three games in 10 days.

The gauntlet begins Sunday with a home game against the Dolphins, who are 6-7, coming off a 32-26 overtime victory over the Jets and competing for a wild card playoff berth.

On Dec. 21, a Saturday, the Texans visit Arrowhead Stadium to play the Chiefs, who have an NFL-best 12-1 record after Sunday's 19-17 victory over the Chargers that was achieved on a field goal with no time left in the game. It was the 10^thtime this season the Chiefs have won a one-score game.

And, finally, the Murderer's Row stretch concludes on Christmas Day, a Wednesday, against the Ravens at NRG Stadium. Like the Texans, Baltimore is 8-5 and returning from its bye week. The Texans have a five-game losing streak against the Ravens, including 0-4 since Lamar Jackson became their starting quarterback.

After hosting the Ravens, the Texans don't play again until the last weekend of regular season, either Jan. 4-5, at Tennessee. The Titans, who defeated the Texans 32-27 last month, lost 10-6 to the Jaguars on Sunday. Both teams are 3-10 and in contention for the first overall pick in the draft.

After a 5-1 start, the Texans have gone 3-4, including a 23-20 victory at Jacksonville before their bye week. They'll have to split their last four games to equal last season's 10-7 record.

"It was nice to see the guys come back refreshed (and) seeing them bounce around today in practice," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday. "It was good to feel the energy and the sense of urgency. Everybody's excited to be back on the grass practicing."

Ryans and his players know what's at stake. They have a two-game lead over the second-place Colts (6-7) in the AFC South that amounts to a three-game advantage because the Texans beat Indianapolis twice.

The Colts, who have won two of their last three games – one-point road victories over the Jets and Patriots sandwiched around a loss to the Lions – have an excellent opportunity to close the season on a roll.

After playing at Denver (8-5) on Sunday, the Colts close with the Titans (3-10), Giants (2-11) and Jaguars (3-10). Those last three opponents have a combined record of 8-31. Even if they lose to the Broncos, the Colts have a chance to finish 9-8 for the second consecutive season.

Ryans and his players aren't worried about the Colts. They're concentrating on the Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

"It's great to be playing meaningful football in December," Ryans said. "Our guys have earned their right to be here.

"When the Dolphins play well, they have really good quarterback play. When Tua's on (he's) getting the ball out fairly quickly, and there's a lot of speed on the field. Whoever he gets the ball to, all those guys play extremely fast."

Tagovailoa's favorite targets are wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, tight end Jonnu Smith and running back De'Von Achane. Waddle and Achane are Houston natives playing before family and friends.

In Sunday's victory over the Jets, Tagovailoa completed 33-of-47 (70.2 percent) for 331 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime. He didn't throw an interception or get sacked, and his rating was 104.1.

In his nine starts before and after suffering a concussion that caused him to miss four games, Tagovailoa has 2,456 yards, a 73.8 completion percentage and 17 touchdowns. He's thrown four interceptions and has a 107.4 rating.

"They do a good job of distributing the ball to different players, and those guys have exceptional run-after-catch ability," Ryans said. "They have the ability to take a 5-yard pass and turn it into an explosive (play).

"That's where we have to do a great job on the perimeter of tackling and making sure we're where we're supposed to be defensively. We have to make plays and attack the football."

The Texans will have to attack the football without linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. He'll miss the next three games because of his NFL-mandated suspension. When Al-Shaair missed three games because of an injury, Neville Hewitt did a splendid job replacing him.

"It's going to hurt losing Azeez, but we're pressing forward," Ryans said. "We've moved on from that, and it has no bearing on what we're doing right now. Our focus is on Miami.

"When Neville had to step in for us, I thought he did a nice job of being where he's supposed to be, communicated well, executed his technique within the defense, and he made some plays. I expect all our guys to do their job. They don't have to be someone they're not -- everybody just play within the structure of the defense."

The Texans announced Monday linebacker Christian Harris and left guard Kenyon Green have been designated to return to practice from injured reserve. Since Harris hasn't played since the playoffs because of a calf injury, he'll have a lot of rust to knock off once he's added to the roster and able to get on the field.

Harris was exceptional for much of last season, especially in the playoffs.

"Christian has done an outstanding job of working off to the side," Ryans said. "Our strength and conditioning staff (and) sports performance staff have done a great job of working with Christian. Just seeing him moving around, he looks like himself physically.

"It's a matter of missing a lot of football and him getting back in and getting those mental reps. Nothing can help you do football except playing football. He has to get those physical reps of hearing a call (and) getting lined up, but, physically, he looks like he's in a really good spot."

During the bye week, Ryans made sure his coaches got some rest and relaxation, too. They'll need everyone involved and at their best at this most crucial time of the season.

"The biggest thing for us (is) getting back to the fundamentals of ball," Ryans said. "It's us executing (the) simple things of football.

"At this time of the year, it's not so much about the scheme. Everybody knows what everybody's doing. It's are you executing better than your opponent? Are you protecting the football? Are you taking the football away, putting yourself in favorable positions (and) playing complementary football?"

Last season, the Texans went 3-1 down the stretch to finish 10-7 and win the AFC South by one game over Indianapolis and Jacksonville. But that impressive finish wasn't nearly as daunting as what they're about to experience in their next three games against Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson before a rematch with Will Levis and the Titans.